While no car is immortal, a lucky few Car and Driver projects have elbowed their way onto keeper lists normally restricted to rare Bugattis and pedigreed Ferraris. Here’s an update on three of our creations that have so far postponed their trips to the shredder. No small feat considering that one of them is a […]

Don Sherman

May 4, 2012

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

While no car is immortal, a lucky few Car and Driver projects have elbowed their way onto keeper lists normally restricted to rare Bugattis and pedigreed Ferraris. Here’s an update on three of our creations that have so far postponed their trips to the shredder. No small feat considering that one of them is a Ford Pinto (pictured above).

1972 Ford Pinto Race Car

They’re laughingstocks now, but in 1974, a Pinto constructed in Car and Driver’s New York City garage won the second race it ran in the hands of Patrick Bedard and Ron Nash against a tough IMSA RS field at Charlotte Motor Speedway. What the Pinto’s 2.3-liter four-banger lacked in power, we made up in handling, thanks to some clever suspension suggestions supplied by sympathetic Ford engineers. Following a thorough restoration and a racetrack reunion with its predecessor, a C/D-liveried Mazda RX-2 [“Checkered Past,” April 2007], our plucky Pint was sold to Fox Motorsports in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Current Status: for sale by a motivated owner, fresh engine and extensive spares included. Place your bid at info@foxmotorsports.com.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

1983 Nissan Maxima

While Nissan was distracted with retiring its Datsun brand name in the U.S., Car and Driver and Bob Sharp Racing yanked the turbocharged and intercooled 2.8-liter six from a 280ZX and wedged it under the hood of a Maxima sedan. With fatter tires, wider wheels, and tighter rear shocks, our project Maxima was 2.6 seconds quicker to 60 and roadholding increased from 0.74 g to 0.78. We christened our creation “Newman’s Own Turbo” and presented it to Paul Newman at his Westport, Connecticut, home in recognition of his racing success in a string of Datsuns and Nissans. Later, we heard that Mrs. Newman, actress Joanne Woodward, was quite smitten with our ­project car. After five or so years, the Newmans sold the Maxima to a North Carolina parts retailer. It served as his delivery car for more than a decade while whirling the odometer up to 235,000 miles.

We called this CRX with a double dose of horsepower and traction “Super Synchronicity.” A complete engine, transaxle, and suspension module from the front of a CRX was added at the rear, with surprisingly favorable results. In fact, the idea worked so well that we replaced the original 1.5-liter engine/three-speed automatic powertrains with more potent 1.8-liter/four-speed combos from a pair of Accords. With 2.7 times the power of a stock CRX, Super Synchronicity managed a 0-to-60 sprint of 6.2 seconds and a top speed of 143 mph. The final curb weight was a reasonable 2700 pounds. Three driving modes were possible: front powertrain pulling, rear powertrain pushing, or the entire eight-cylinder team hauling our buggy. While Super Synchronicity is currently sidelined, the owner intends to remedy the minor ills keeping this project car off.